Harley-Davidson unveils Breakout

Harley-Davidson has unveiled a new cruiser for 2013; they call it the Breakout.

The bike has a drag-style handlebar fitted.

This new Softtail model is built around their 1690 cc Twin Cam 103B motor, with 95.5 ft. lbs. of torque at 3000 rpm and electronic sequential port fuel injection and automatic compression release; there’s a six-speed transmission and a chain primary drive. And, you may remember there was already a Breakout in their Custom Vehicles Operation division as well – in this case, the custom preceded the stock bike.

None of that stuff is new. What is new about the Breakout is its looks; in the last few years, Harley-Davidson has built the Forty-Eight and Seventy-Two models, emulating classic bike styles of previous eras.

Those wheels are supposed to emulate Gasser wheels from the ’60s and ’70s.

The Breakout is another bike in that mold. Harley-Davidson styling manager Kirk Rasmussen says the bike was built to visually emphasize the powertrain and the wheels; those cast aluminum wheels (18-inch rear, 21-inch front) are styled after the Gasser racing wheels of the 1960s and 1970s.

The Breakout has a five-gallon fuel tank, comes in red, blue or black, and has an unladen seat height of 660 mm. Riders can remove the pillion seat if they want to cruise around solo, giving the bike a more stripped-down look. There’s also an option for ABS. Curb weight is 322 kg.

Pricing for the Breakout starts at $20,329 ($20,729 for colour options).